February 08, 2010

What Would Your Child Do?

Last week a 9th Grader in Madison, Alabama took a loaded gun to school. Between classes, he shot and killed another student. About 24 hours earlier here in Jonesboro, another student-this one a sixth grader, handed a loaded .22 caliber revolver over to school officials after a classmate turned him in. While our hearts go out to the families affected in Alabama, we are grateful that we did not have the same outcome here in Region 8. These types of stories have become far too common in today’s society. Many who own guns, me included, have not done enough to either secure them or to educate our children about them. We need to do better. The administration of Valley View should be commended for their swift action in resolving the matter. Once notified, it looks as though they handled the situation by the book. Thank goodness for that. But the real hero of the story is the young person who came forwardand told administrators that his classmate had a gun. It takes guts to stand up for what’s right when your 12 years old. Had it not been for his actions, no one would have known, not the principal, not the teachers, and not the police. And then what might have happened? What would your child do in that situation? Don’t answer that. Talk to them about it first. Make sure that if your child is placed in a bad situation, they know exactly what to do and are prepared to do it. It will make this a Better Region 8.

Comments

Today is Feb 15, I just saw your speech on a better region 8. I agree with the above post, as I agree with what you just said on T.V.however, there is a HUGE! problem that is not being presented for thought.

When I was a child, never in my wildest dreams would I have taken a weapon to school,nor would I have been a bully or a smart alleck punk toward my teachers.

This is for one reason and one reason only. FEAR OF MY DADS PUNISHMENT! It is my opinion that today's awful incidents that we see publicized over and over are due to parents letting the internet,and t.v. to be more of an influence on them than needs to be. We as parents dont take the time to develop our kids COMMON SENSE side of things. Instead we let everything become computerized, and spend so much of our own time in front of the pc monitor instead of getting involved with our kids. Not just with school work, but with lifes lessons themselves.

I have two daughters, I also have firearms that are not locked up. I have ammo that is easily accessable and have no fear at all that my daughters would ever "PLAY" with my weapons. But its because of the way I have raised them. I never had that fear until i watched you on the tele just a few minutes ago. Food for thought i suppose, but i got to thinking, im quiet certain that the parents of the two boys who committed those murders at westside may have thought the exact same thing. So now, when I am done writing this, the only gun and ammo that will NOT BE LOCKED up will be the one on my belt. I will see to it that all my ammo and all my weapons are locked up. Just to prove i dont believe i know it all.

Thank you for opening my eyes but just remember this, all the great parenting in the world and all the security of locking our guns up will not stop a child from getting their hands on A gun, the only thing that will stop a child from taking a gun to school and committing such horrible deeds is to teach our kids common sense, and get back to real parenting in the first place.